COMPANIES

Ousted HealthSouth Corp. Chief Executive Richard Scrushy, acquitted two years ago in a major corporate fraud case, and former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman were both sentenced to prison on Thursday for bribery.

A tentative deal between News Corp. and Dow Jones & Co Inc. would give an independent board the power to approve the hiring and firing of top editors at The Wall Street Journal, three sources said on Thursday.

KB Home, the No. 5 U.S. home builder, posted a quarterly net loss on Thursday, partly on land value-related charges that reflect the continuing decaying U.S. housing market.

Court ruled the U.S. bank's 'Chinese Walls' were not breached when it traded shares in a company it knew was a takeover target.

General Mills Inc. on Thursday said quarterly profit edged higher, though increased marketing spending and higher commodity costs tempered the increase.

Wine and spirits company Constellation Brands Inc. said on Thursday that quarterly profit fell sharply, hurt by a plan to cut the amount of wine it ships to U.S. distributors and lower results from its British business.

Investors in two struggling Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds that made bad bets on risky mortgages will almost surely file lawsuits in hopes of recouping losses, but legal experts say they could have a tough time proving their case.

Guitar Center Inc. said on Wednesday that it agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC for $2.1 billion including assumed debt.

Video rental chain Blockbuster Incl said on Wednesday it had settled a patent dispute with rival Netflix Inc. that had challenged Blockbuster's entry into the online DVD rental business.

Europe's plan to limit greenhouse gases by creating a carbon market may fall short. Dirty coal is cheaper than oil.

Best Buy Co. Inc. said on Wednesday that it would open more North American stores than previously planned, buy back $5.5 billion in stock and raise its dividend 30 percent.

Russian airline Aeroflot pulled out of the bidding for Alitalia on Wednesday, leaving Rome's auction of the unprofitable airline in danger of collapse with just two players left.

Guitar Center Inc. said it agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC for about $2.1 billion, including assumed debt.

Research firm NPD Group will provide Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its Sam's Club unit with consumer tracking data, according to an agreement announced on Wednesday.

The EU said the merger of leading Irish airlines would destroy competition.

Rupert Murdoch said he had no plans to raise his $5 billion bid for media group Dow Jones & Co. Inc. and expected final approval from the controlling Bancroft family within two to three weeks, 'if at all.'

Carlyle Group, a U.S. private equity firm, is considering a stock market listing similar to last week's initial public offering by rival Blackstone, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Wednesday.

Wells Fargo & Co., the fifth-largest U.S. bank, on Wednesday named John Stumpf chief executive, replacing Richard Kovacevich, who will remain chairman.

Shareholders in the London Stock Exchange are expected to support the bourse's decision to buy Milan-based Borsa Italiana, LSE Chief Executive Clara Furse said on Wednesday.

Bear Stearns Asset Management CEO Richard Marin is taking a stronger role in managing its two troubled hedge funds and tapped mortgage unit head Thomas Marano to save one of the funds, two sources familiar with the decision said.

German TV broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG said on Wednesday it bought rival SBS Broadcasting for 3.3 billion euros ($4.43 billion) to create Europe's second-biggest television provider.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and Dow Jones & Co. Inc. have basically agreed on safeguards to the editorial independence of Dow Jones' news operations, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, setting the stage for Dow Jones to accept a $5 billion buyout offer.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) posted higher fourth-quarter net profit on Tuesday, beating Wall Street estimates and sending shares up 4 percent in extended trade, as strong sales of Nike-branded footwear helped offset overall challenges in the U.S. athletic shoe market.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) once seemed impervious to the turbulence that buffeted other U.S. airlines, but on the eve of its 30th anniversary as a public company, the first and still the biggest U.S. low-cost carrier looks vulnerable.

Shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) dropped more than 5 percent on Tuesday after the nation’s largest supermarket operator reported a quarterly profit below Wall Street expectations, due in part to labor unrest.

Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ), and News Corp (NYSE: NWS), have agreed in principle on a set of protections aimed at protecting the editorial independence Dow Jones publications, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. is not currently planning to bail out a second hedge fund that has suffered big losses, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.

Kroger Co., the largest U.S. grocery chain, posted a weaker-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday due to labor unrest at a distribution center, sending its shares down in early electronic trade.

Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. home builder, posted a quarterly loss on Tuesday, forecast a loss in the current quarter and warned that the housing market could deteriorate further.